Zoo Expansion

[Dan]

With the demand for car parks now easing following the introduction of the £2.00 Car Parking Charge for the 2019 Season, it could well be that the Fairfield Car Park is no longer needed; this would provide the perfect opportunity to expand the Zoo.

Would you like to see a Zoo expansion - if so, what would you like to see added? If not, let us know why!

 

[AvalancheAttractionsUK]

I do remeber back in 2016 the park put up concept images of a refurbed Zoo. I’m not sure if they’re still there but it looked decent! It was/ is supposed to have a penguin enclosure/ show as well as a refurbed enclosure of which Toto spend a decent amount of time in! I do hope it comes, however plans may have changed after the Splash Canyon incident a year ago.

 

[Themeparksandy1981]

New zoo plans are up around the area
Looks like a new penguin and lemur area.

 

[Dan]

Very nice to see this - the investments in the zoo this year have been great, I look forward to seeing these developments as well as others upcoming. The zoo is looking really nice this season and these new additions make this even better.

We did report in our previous Park Update, it was confirmed that the enclosure was moving backwards into the Excalibur lake - it seems the park have followed these plans. The Lemur area is just to the left of the zoo so will be an exciting entrance to the zoo, it appears that the kerb will be dropped on the left of the enclosure, with an open area with mesh / perspex roof above, to the left there will be frameless perspex glass to see into an adjacent enclosure for Lemurs. You can then enter the Lemur Houses on the right with viewing areas to the left and right of the corridor. Outside of the lemur houses on the existing zoo path there will be viewing for the two open topped enclosures - I imagine this will be similar to the Macaque closure in the sense that it is open. It is very exciting to see that new enclosures are being added to help enhance the zoo experience even more.

The Penguin enclosure is an exciting development we were not expecting - this seems to be an area of its own adjacent to the previous penguin enclosure with its own themed entrance arch and penguin enclosure. I am certain this will be a popular addition to the park and is also ideal as no other enclosures appear to be removed to make this.

The future is looking very bright for the zoo, with these new additions and the continuous refurbishment work being seen across the zoo, especially with Dino Trail, Keeper Experiences and Outdoor Shows, the zoo really is looking amazing. We will be following the construction of these two enclosures, please stay tuned to Drayton Talk for some exciting new updates to the site to make these updates easier to find...

 

[jjwitton]

I find the Zoo to have too many meshes and steel cages used for the enclosures, where many modern Zoo's are moving well away from this feel of been caged up and using large Glass viewings ports and enlarging the enclosures height and length.

Recently I went to see the new tiger enclosure at Twycross Zoo with it's glass walkthrough tunnel and was completely amazed at by it. Where the Tigers at Drayton seem well... very caged up. I know the animals are well looked after but I have to admit I find it uncomfortable to see. You have better ways of doing it now. Also look at Chessingtons Tiger enclosure very open and big.

With the apparent new penguin enclosure it would be fantastic to see the front of the enclosure with some glass openings like the picture. Most Zoo's have this now and feel amazing to see the penguins swimming under the water.

You can clearly see the Zoo is slowly transitioning into a more open and modern Zoo which is great to see. Also I would LOVE to see Rothschild's giraffes in like a African savannah type enclosure!!!

 

[Anth0ny]

It seems strange that the concept art was placed around the proposed site but no work has been started yet, my family visited over Magical Christmas and animals are still living on these sites. I doubt they will do the work over the open season, but I don't think they have time to finish this within the closed season - which means maybe these developments have been delayed.

I agree with the sentiment above, and I do think that a new Lemur House and Penguin Enclosure with the glass frontage shown on the concept art, would be extremely popular, they seem to be most popular at other Zoos. I also think it would be nice to see a small refurbishment on the Red Panda, Fishing Cat and Lynx Enclosures to make these a little less cage-like - these changes would make the zoo a much more pleasant and popular attraction. The tiger enclosure could also do with livening up, but again, given the nature of these animals it may be difficult to modify these enclosures.

I feel like other enclosures, such as the new Spider Monkey Enclosure, Gibbon and Lemur Enclosure are all okay, and the enclosures for the birds can't really be updated given the nature of these animals. But updating the more 'tired' enclosures over by the Red Pandas would be welcomed, as well as these new state-of-the-art enclosures advertised in the concept artwork around the zoo.

 

[Themeparksandy1981]

The enclosure by the reptile house is Empty and it looked like they started to remove the trees behind the fence so ground work could be starting on the lemur enclosure. There a sign in front saying no bodies home but work will start soon. So it’s hard to say if it is for the lemur enclosure or another temporary animal.